An Equinox Carol
by King in Yellow
Summary: Three years after the end of DDD, most characters are a little older, but Ron still hopes to never grow up. Someone has hurt an old enemy. How should justice be administered? And by whom? Best Enemies series.
1. Chapter 1 Ghost of Equinox Past

Boilerplate Disclaimer: Disney owns all the various characters from the Kim Possible series. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

I was down for a while about continuing stories in the Best Enemies universe. I appreciate the handful of people who like these, but am not always sure it is worth the effort. This was half written when DDD appeared so I decided to finish it.

Kasy Ann and Sheki Go Possible were created by NoDrogs in the story A Small Possibility.

---

**Chapter 1 - Ghost of Equinox Past**

The days were slowly lengthening, but while there was now plenty of light in the late afternoon the figure who prowled the roofs merged so well with the shadows as to be almost invisible. Her binoculars raked the streets. She was fairly certain this was another wild goose chase, there had been many over the last eight months, but her source had sounded so certain she had to check it out. When her search first started it had been almost a hobby. For the last couple months it had become more of a challenge. In fact, it was now so close to becoming an obsession that she feared it would interfere with classes.

_"Bingo,"_ she said softly to herself as she picked out a homeless person shuffling down the street. It matched the description she had been given, but didn't match her own memory of the woman she was seeking. Poorly dressed for the chill of spring the emaciated figure shivered as she tried to beg spare change from passers-by. The rooftop watcher could almost smell the filth of the beggar as pedestrians turned away from her in disgust. Shego felt conflicted as she searched for some sign that would confirm or deny the identity of the woman on the street below. She was torn between wanting her search to be over and hoping the woman she sought had not been reduced to this.

Shego watched the figure, waiting for a chance to talk privately with her. Eventually the woman moved into an alley, which the pale watcher suspected was her home. The street itself seemed deserted and Shego descended to the sidewalk via a fire escape. She paused, should she go in silently to try and verify the woman's identity -- and perhaps frighten her -- or make enough noise to let the street person know she was not alone? The pale woman cleared her throat loudly and kicked a piece of rubbish as she walked boldly into the alley.

She swore to herself, _"Wrong, fucking choice,"_ as she stared at the business end of a pistol.

The rheumy eyes of the vagrant tried to focus on the pale green woman. "You! You were Drakken's bitch. Did he… Did you do this to me? Are you here to see how my life is ruined?"

"Do what to you? What happened to you? I haven't seen you in years--"

"LIAR!"

"It's the truth. I couldn't even believe it was you when I saw you."

"But you were looking for me. You aren't here by accident. You… What did you do?"

Shego moved to the voice she used in trying to reason with three-year olds. "I really don't know what has happened to you. Please tell me."

"My money, my house, credit cards… Everything gone. Bank says zero balance. Cards not work. I got new jobs… Money gone… Stealing my account… Even wash dishes… Live on cash… Can't cash checks, can't live anywhere… Lost it all… Been mugged… How many times… Can't even get job washing dishes now, they say… They say… Why are you here?"

"You should have turned yourself in, Amy. Jail would have been better than this." Even as she said it Shego knew that she wouldn't have turned herself in -- even a couple times early in her criminal career when it might have made sense.

"YOU HATE ME!"

"I'll admit I never really liked you. But I would never do this to a person. Hell, three and a half years ago I might have killed you if I hadn't been in prison. But I would have never done this. I don't work like this."

"You'd have killed me?"

"For trying to hurt Kim? I would have hurt you. You took advantage of her when she was crazy with grief. You were trying to hurt her, and you did. Everything bad you wanted to happen to her did, maybe more. But she came through it all -- and she's stronger than ever."

"Why are you here?"

"I thought you might like to see some pictures. They had their third birthday about a month ago. They're probably the best work you've ever done. I wanted to see the woman who can work miracles. I wanted to say thank you. Can I reach into my leg pouch and get the photos?"

The gaunt woman nodded agreement. Moving slowly, not wanting to frighten her any further, Shego slowly reached down. "You know I never carry a gun, right?" Amy remained silent, watching closely as Shego's hand dipped into the pouch. Shego kept her own eyes on the gun; looking for any movement that might suggest Amy would shoot.

"Put them down on the ground and back away," Amy ordered. Shego complied with the commands. Amy seemed to be making a little more sense. That was good. But the way the barrel of the gun was shaking was a bad sign. Shego felt like she could dodge if she knew what the shooter was doing, but if Amy pulled the trigger Shego couldn't guess where the random shots might go.

Amy shuffled forward to pick up the pictures. Shego weighed her options, she could probably overpower the geneticist without a real chance of being shot, but feared she might hurt Amy in the process. She could probably escape without a problem, but wanted to find out what had happened to Kim's former enemy. Reasoning with Amy in her current condition seemed out of the question. Shego kept her eyes on the barrel of the gun. The pistol was shaking even more violently now, it was no longer just Amy's hand, her whole bodying was swaying and Shego's choices narrowed dramatically as Amy attempted to bend down to retrieve the pictures and simply collapsed in the alleyway.

Exhaustion, exposure with hypothermia, and hunger struck Shego as the most likely problems as she checked Amy's pulse -- probably a combination of all three. She couldn't leave Amy there and Shego weighed her other options. She was sorely tempted to call the police, but she wanted to know what had happened to this woman. The pale woman sighed. She could dump the pistol in some river on the way home.

---

As soon as Shego got in the front door she was assaulted by her daughters. "Eemah! You're home! Who is that? She smells bad. Is she dead? Why are you carrying her?" Ron followed them from the living room and raised an eyebrow as he saw Shego's burden.

"Hush, sweeties. This is a woman your mommy and I met years ago. She is sick right now, so Eemah's going to put her to bed."

"Did we ever meet her?" Kasy demanded.

"Not really," Shego smiled. "But she's kind of a godmother to you."

"Is she a fairy godmother?" Sheki asked.

"Well, your mommy and I think she can do magic. Ron, a little help here. Should I put her in Monique's old room or Justine's?"

"I think we're calling Justine's old room the guest room."

"I'm going to put her bed. You want to help me take off her shoes and coat or fix some sort of snack to leave on the night stand for when she wakes up?"

Ron took a sniff, "I'll go to the kitchen and fix something."

After tucking in Amy Shego went to her own room and took off her old green and black suit. She took a whiff before dumping it in the laundry hamper. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a black sweater, gathered her hair in a fast ponytail and went down to see the day's coloring projects from daycare. As she changed one question kept running through her mind,_ "What am I going to tell Kim?"_


	2. Chapter 2 Ghost of Equinox Present

Boilerplate Disclaimer: Disney owns all the various characters from the Kim Possible series. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

---

**Chapter 2 - Ghost of Equinox Present**

_"What a day,"_ Kim thought as she arrived home. Last week's mission to secure an archaeological site in Belize from international looters, who would sell the pre-Columbian artifacts to art 'collectors', had been exhausting, but the paperwork was proving even worse. Will Du seemed to thrive on that sort of minutiae, but it made her want to go down to a Global Justice training room and hide. Her mood didn't improve when she saw the number of cars parked at her home. Jim and Tim were obviously throwing another party. She owed her mom and dad too much to say no when they asked to fix up the apartment over the garage and let the twins move in for college. At least her mom and dad seemed to be having a wonderful time these days with no children at home -- she hoped they were taking precautions.

What bothered her most about her brothers was the fact that she had gotten into so much trouble when she first started college and didn't have good study habits. These two seemed to do nothing but party, and still kept up excellent grades. _ "No justice,"_ she muttered to herself as she walked up to the front door. She was going to eat supper, get into her pajamas, play with the girls, and go to bed early.

When Kim got inside the house, however, a dark-haired form wrapped herself around the redhead and gave her a deep and passionate kiss. "Change clothes," Shego whispered, "you and I are having a romantic dinner at the Astor."

"Not tonight dear, I have a headache," Kim groaned.

"Just the two of us. Ron will watch the girls."

"I told you yesterday. I'm tired. I just want to relax around the house tonight. I need to catch up on 'Tomorrow is Another Day.'"

"Tomorrow is another day, you need a nice dinner and half a bottle of wine to help you relax tonight."

While the two were talking Kasy and Sheki had come out into the entryway to see mommy.

"What have you done now, Shego?" Kim demanded. "The romantic dinner makes me think you have some news you don't want to tell me unless I have a buzz."

"Eemah brought home a fairy godmother!" Kasy exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" Sheki hushed her sister. "That was 'sposed to be a secret."

"Girls, why don't you go to the kitchen and ask uncle Ron to show you how to fold a napkin swan? Eemah and I need to talk for just a minute -- alone."

A little later Kim and Shego went into the kitchen to see how Ron's napkin lesson was progressing. "Can you take the girls upstairs and read them a story after supper?" Kim asked Ron. "Shego and I need to continue a conversation, in the basement where it won't disturb anyone."

"I don' think Helen likes it when you talk in the basement," Kasy said.

"Then Helen can go haunt the attic while we are talking."

Other than the obvious tension between Kim and Shego it was a delightful dinner. Sheki insisted she had been folding the napkins to look like rocks and Kasy's napkin swan vaguely resembled a napkin octopus.

After dinner the two women headed downstairs. Kim leaned back against a wall and Shego perched on the dryer.

"How many criminals have we had stay with us?" Kim asked in a tired voice.

"Counting me?"

"Not counting you."

"Uh, how many do you think?"

"Three?"

"Sure, three it is. Good guess."

"If I'd said four would you have agreed to four?"

"You know me, always agreeable. Hey, two or three were Bonnie's guests."

"TWO OR THREE WERE BONNIE'S GUESTS!" Kim closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She suspected Helen would be complaining to the girls about her yelling. "Shego, I work for Global Justice."

"And I'm the only one who had an international rap sheet. At least of the people I've had here. Global Justice wasn't worried about any of the people I invited."

"Who did Bonnie… Never mind. You had me fighting heroes when they came for Pickman!"

"He was my teacher. And Rosencrantz and Guildenstern aren't heroes, they're insurance investigators."

"It's the same thing. You said they helped you a couple times back when you were with your brothers in Team Go."

"C'mon, Kim. Pickman built us the best security system in Middleton while he was here. You owed him a head start. And you talked about what a nice grandfatherly type man he was before those two showed up. I don't think Hego could have stopped them as well as you."

"Look, I'm sorry I brought Pickman up. I didn't even know he was wanted until after the fight with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Let's drop that. Why in the hell did you bring Amy here?"

Shego's voice dropped into a serious tone. "We owe her, Kim. Someone's hurt her; hurt her badly. She needs a chance to recover. You haven't seen her; she's a mess. I wouldn't leave a dog on the street in her condition."

"She's a criminal."

"Just barely. Most of the trouble she got into was for unapproved experiments. I even know a redhead who egged her on into one that was may have been illegal, it was certainly unapproved."

Kim pressed her lips firmly together at the memory. After a minute she said, "Okay, we owe her. She's really in bad shape?"

"God's truth. It looks like she's been on the street for months. I'm not even sure if her mind is still all there. I'm hoping some rest and food will get her thinking clearly."

"Shego, promise to ask me before you bring another villain home."

"I promise, Kim. I will not bring another old friend home without telling you first."

"I said 'ask' not 'tell'."

"Yes, but you also failed to say I had to obtain your permission. I'll ask before bringing someone home -- it won't matter whether you say yes or no."

"I liked you better before law school," Kim groused. "You were such a beautiful felon. And I could always beat you when we fought."

"Too many blows to the head, Kim. I beat you all the time. And you fell in love with me because I'm so good in bed. It was dreadfully shallow of you. But I'll forgive you. Now, why don't we get on our pajamas and catch up with 'Tomorrow is Another Day'? Ron says Bonnie got a lot of on-air time this week. And we'd better be caught up on the storyline or we'll catch hell again the next time she comes home."

"Okay, but after the girls go to bed I want a 'Tomorrow' break and a reminder of why I fell in love with you."

Shego gave her a broad grin. As they headed up the stairs, however, Shego had one more request. "I don't want you telling ANYBODY that she is here. Whoever hurt her is still out there, and I don't want him or her to know where Amy is."

"You make it sound like someone we know."

"I'm making it sound like I have no idea. Someone tells someone else that she is here, and the word gets around. I'm serious, Kim. I don't even want you telling your mom and dad she's here."

"Is that why you told the girls her name was Holly?"

"You can swear a three year old to secrecy, but you can't trust her to keep the promise. I thought Holly was a good choice, since her real name is Amy Hall."

---

Shego rapped on the door the next morning, "Are you alive in there? You've been sleeping for sixteen hours."

"Where am I?" a frightened voice answered.

"I brought you to my place. You're in Middleton. I think everyone would appreciate it if you took a shower or bath before breakfast."

"I don't have any clothes but what I have on."

"Yeah, that is a problem. I don't think any of my stuff or Kim's would fit you. I borrowed some jeans and a jersey from Ron. They will probably be loose on you."

"Ron?"

"Ron Stoppable. Kim's old partner."

Amy opened the door. At least the sleep had left her talking rationally even if it didn't improve the atmosphere around her. Shego showed her the bathroom. Before she went back to strip the bed so she could wash the linens the pale woman told her guest, "Oh, your code name is Holly while you are here. We don't want the girls saying anything at daycare about an Amy who is staying with us."

When Amy found her way down to the kitchen, her hair still wet from the shower, Kim decided Shego had done the right thing. She would not have recognized Amy if she had passed her on the street. Ron set a plate of fried eggs, turkey bacon, and a slice of cantaloupe down on the table in front of her and she fell on it as if she was starving. Almost within seconds she was literally licking the plate before Ron could even ask if she wanted more.

'Holly' ate two more plates of breakfast before Kim told Ron to stop. "Don't eat yourself sick," the redhead told her. "Get some rest, there is plenty of food for later."

The twins had been staring at their strange guest as she had devoured her food like an animal. They suspected they would be in trouble if they used manners like that. After three breakfasts Amy was a little more aware of her surroundings and peered closely at the little girls. She slowly reached out a hand and gently stroked Kasy's red hair. "You have very pretty hair."

"I hate it," the little red head said.

"You hate it?"

"Yes. People always say that. People always touch it. I hate it."

"I wish I had pretty hair," Sheki said. "People always wanna talk with Kasy."

"You have very pretty hair too," Amy said, realizing she had probably said it too late.

"Not your fault," Kim told Amy. "It's a problem we get all the time. The redhead's curse. Doesn't matter what else you do with your life, it's the first thing people notice and talk about."

---

"Girls, could you help uncle Ron load the dishwasher while Mommy and Eemah go upstairs and talk with Holly?"

"'Kay."

"That's my squid. I have to get to work and Eemah will take you to daycare before classes." Kim gave huge hugs to the twins before leaving the kitchen.

Once upstairs Shego got a set of fresh sheets while Kim found an oversized t-shirt for Amy to sleep in.

As the couple made the bed Kim addressed Amy, "Look, I don't think you like either one of us. I'm sure neither of us really likes you. But Shego thinks you should stay until you get feeling better."

"I want a little more than that, Princess. I don't think she should leave until I find the bastard who did this to her and make sure it doesn't happen again."

"I don't know if I want Amy staying that long. It could take you awhile."

"I have a couple suspects--"

Amy broke in, "Can I say something?"

"Sorry," Kim said. "I wanted some ground rules with you. Shego and I get into discussions--"

"But making up is a lot of fun," Shego giggled.

Kim rolled her eyes and addressed Amy. "I don't like letting you stay here alone. But you kept your promise to me before. Will you promise to stay inside today? You're welcome to any food in the house, and the television is in the living room. We can talk about more ground rules tonight. Just promise me you won't steal anything. I have to get to work." Actually, Kim wouldn't have minded Amy stealing anything in the house if she took it and was gone when Kim got home that evening.

"I've never been a thief," Amy growled. "Okay maybe a couple things I needed for my genetics work. But I never stole from individuals. And I… Thanks… I won't do anything to hurt you after you helped me like this."

"No big," Kim told her, "I had no idea Shego was so hospitable until we were living together."

Kim left for work and Shego read a couple books to the twins before taking them to daycare and heading for her own classes in the law school. She left Ron playing video games; his own classes weren't until later in the day.

On her second day Shego took DNAmy to the Middleton Dental School for work. The dental students did great work, and didn't ask as many questions about their patient, Holly, as they would have once they had established practices. It took several trips over the next week, but three filling, two crowns, and an implant later Amy had her wide toothy smile again. She gained some weight and lost some of the haunted look. She picked up several outfits at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. It wasn't clear what 'normal' size would be for her when she left. The twins begged to be allowed to accompany Eemah and Holly and found the Thrift Store a treasure store of dress-up clothes.

---

Shego sat anxiously on the front porch staring up and down the street. She didn't like coming home to an empty house and not even finding a note on the refrigerator. After several anxious minutes she heard a familiar roar and the Indian pulled into the driveway. She followed Ron as he rode into the garage.

"Why didn't you answer your damn cell phone," she yelled at Ron as he put down the kickstand and took off his helmet.

"What?" he yelled, cupping his hand behind an ear.

"Why didn't you…" he turned off the engine and Shego muttered, "Never mind. Could you leave a note before taking off? Where are the girls?"

"I went in to the kitchen to start supper. Amy was with the girls. I went to ask her a question a few minutes later and they were all gone. I panicked and got on the bike." Shego looked worried as Ron spoke. "She took them to the park. Or they took her to the park -- I'm really not sure which. Anyway, I made them promise to bring each other home in half an hour and not go out again without telling us."

As they walked back to the house Ron told Shego about picking the girls up from daycare, "Kasy called me daddy today."

"She what?"

"Some kid in daycare with her, Cindy I think, said everyone has a daddy. So Kasy decided I'm hers. You're going to have to explain things to them some day."

"Yeah, but not 'til they're older. I sometimes have trouble understanding it myself. How about Sheki?"

"She still wants to marry me when she gets older. She told Kasy I can't be daddy because you can't marry daddies."

Shego laughed, "You've got a string of broken hearts a mile long. You should have married me when I offered."

"Oh, there's a storyline for a soap opera, 'I married a lesbian.'"

"Hey, I'd never cheat on you with another man."

Inside the house Ron went back to work in the kitchen. Shego brought her Constitutional Law text into the kitchen and studied at the table while Ron cooked in the background.

---

Kim's hand reached over, searching for Shego, and found the other half of the bed empty. It took a minute for the fact to register in her brain: Saturday morning, Shego had the girls with her at synagogue, Kim's morning to sleep in late.

---

Wearing dark glasses and a wig borrowed from Bonnie's make-up chest the geneticist began spending time catching up on journals in the open stacks at Middleton U's science library during the day. Shego felt relief that Amy's mind hadn't suffered any apparent damage.

---

Kim came home late in the second week of Amy's stay to find the geneticist and the twins having a tea party in the formal dining room.

"Where's Eemah?" she asked the girls.

"She's in her study."

Kim opened the door into the still unfinished library, now a library once again through the piles of law books scattered about on the floor. Kim sat down on the second wing chair. Shego took off her reading glasses and put them on the end table.

"How was your day, Pumpkin?"

"Well, the Belize mission is over. And 'over' means the paperwork too, that took longer than the fieldwork. Dr. Director wants Will and me to look over reports that WEE is re-forming. I hope that is a waste of time -- but I shouldn't have any late nights next week. How were classes?"

"The prof said I was fucking brilliant in torts today."

Kim raised one eyebrow, "Is that an exact quote?"

"No, but that was how the Legals all paraphrased it at the study group. They say old Stilson never gives a compliment. Do you remember that the Legals' spring picnic is in three weeks?"

"I'm trying hard to forget, but you keep reminding me every other day." Kim teased. "Were you with the girls at their tea party, or is Ron home early tonight? They have places set for four."

"The girls insisted Amy set a place for Helen. I think I saw her in there with them."

"Can Amy see her?"

"About as well as you can. She figures Helen is some sort of imaginary friend. She can't decide if I'm kidding about her or nuts."

"Is the poker game still on for Saturday night?"

"Yeah, but I've told Amy she has to stay upstairs with the girls. She's agreed."

"You're a raving paranoid. You know that?"

"Kim, please trust me on this. Amy has never done enough evil to have a long list of enemies. I don't want any word getting out to anybody. I've just about got it cracked. I'm hoping by next week I'll have the proof I need."

"Is Wade helping you again or are you still doing investigations all by yourself?"

"Wade is not helping," Shego replied a little too sharply. "If it weren't for Dr. D. I don't even think I'd still be doing the maintenance on the hovercraft."

Kim sighed, "It's hard to lose a friend."

"I don't think you've lost him completely. At least not yet."

Kim smiled at her partner. Given her history the pale woman's faith in human nature was often puzzling, but usually comforting.

---

Sunday morning, Shego's morning to sleep late while Kim took the girls to Sunday School. Shego wasn't sure what her own mother and father thought of her Judaism, but Kim's mom thought it was great -- Kim was too competitive to allow herself to fall behind in the religious studies race and went to services more faithfully now than ever. An evil grin played at Shego's lips, it had been two in the morning before the last of the poker players went home -- Kim would be snoring in church during the sermon.

Shego was convinced Kim would lose this contest. She was now letting the girls light Sabbath candles with her on Friday evening. Kim didn't have anything which would fill the heart of a three-year old with joy like lighting candles. Christmas and that damn tree were hard to compete with. She had to convince Ron to become observant enough to object with her.

---

Kim and Shego, their arms around each other's waists, stood in the doorway and stared at the trio playing Candy Land on the living room floor. Amy was giggling as loudly as the twins. Ron, standing on the other side, smiled, "Pretty amazing, isn't it?" The couple just nodded. "Amy, can we have some of the snickerdoodles you made with the girls this afternoon?"

"Help yourselves," the geneticist called in a cheery voice.

The trio moved to the kitchen and Shego put on a pot of water for tea.

"Unbelievable, an adult who is willing to play that game with them," Kim said. "I don't think we need any other proof that Amy is insane."

"But look at it this way," Ron continued, "if she's playing it with them, none of us have to."

"I think we should let her extend her stay," Shego added. "I always draw the short straw when we see who'll play with them."

"You don't draw it all the time. We all feel that way. It's the times we lose that we really remember."

"Seriously, Shego," Ron asked, "have you figured out what happened with her?"

"Yeah. I finished putting the proof together this afternoon."

"Are you going to the police?"

"The police can't do what needs to be done."

"I don't like that answer," Kim said. "You violate your probation and you're back in prison."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Shego promised. "But the courts are mostly set up to punish. I want to see if I can get Amy back some of her life. I'm going to try to get some kind of restitution for her."

"There's no way to get her back the years she lost," Ron said. "If the bastard won't listen to you, tell me who it is and I'll hurt him."

---

Author's Note: "I hate my hair," is a quote from my own little red head. Yeah, it's the thing everyone talks about when they see her.


	3. Chapter 3 Ghost of Equinox to Come

Boilerplate Disclaimer: Disney owns all the various characters from the Kim Possible series. Any and all registered trade names property of their respective owners. Cheap shots at celebrities constitute fair usage.

---

**Chapter 3 - Ghost of Equinox Yet to Come**

He flipped the switch, but no light came on in his office. He muttered a low curse and was about to turn around to find someone from maintenance when a voice ordered him back into the dark room.

"Sit down, we're going to have a long talk about a mutual acquaintance."

"Awfully melodramatic, aren't you, Shego?"

"It's for your own good. If I see a smirk on your face after what you've done I might not be able to stop myself from beating the crap out of you."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm serious. Even after our years of friendship I'm tempted to beat the crap out of you for what you did to Amy. Nobody deserves that."

"Amy?"

"DNAmy."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. I've got the computer logs."

"Drakken--"

"Drakken would have never hurt her. She saved his life. And he was at Innsmouth most of the times when you cracked her bank accounts and credit reports."

Wade swore loudly. "I should have never taught you those computer cracks."

"Yeah, but you did. And now it's come back to bite you in the ass."

"So, what are you going to do? Turn me over to the police? I was a minor when I screwed up her life."

"You were a minor with three PhDs. I think the courts would be willing to try you as an adult. And you've kept running searches to find if she gets any new credit or bank accounts. The last search was only four months ago. You were nineteen. Some heart-wrenching testimony about how badly you screwed up her life and you could be looking at a long sentence."

Wade remained silent.

"You've got no regrets, do you?"

"Nope, she messed up Kim's life. I messed up her life. It seems fair to me."

"Maybe Kim wasn't thinking very clearly. But Amy did what Kim asked. It wasn't Amy's idea. And don't you ever call our girls a mistake or say they messed up Kim's life."

After another minute of silence Wade asked, "What do you plan to do? Are you going to turn the evidence over to the police and have me arrested? I can afford some awfully good lawyers."

"I want you to give Amy back her life. Put her money back in her name; fix her credit ratings. Oh, put her money back with interest -- maybe in the form of some preferred stock in Lipsky and Load."

"You won't go to the police?"

"No."

"You're letting me off cheap."

"Look, if I could rip three years out of your life to give to her, I would. But that can't happen. Monetary restitution is the best I can think of. Also, I want you to wipe out her criminal record while you're at it. There isn't much. You can leave on the information about her getting fired for doing experiments her university didn't want her to conduct. Hell, that ought to make her a hero to you."

Wade muttered something Shego couldn't catch. "What was that?" she asked.

"Who have you told?"

"I haven't told anyone it was you. You're good for the Doc. He doesn't even know what happened to Amy. I hope you still value the good opinion of Kim and Ron. When I said I knew who had hurt Amy he offered to cripple the bastard who did it. It was easy enough for you to sit in front of a computer and ruin someone's life. We saw the consequences. None of us liked Amy. Hell, I'm still not sure if we do. But we have a lot of sympathy for her right now. You managed to accomplish something I didn't believe possible. Do this the easy way and I won't tell them. It's your choice. Give her back some of her life and I keep my mouth shut, or you'll spend more money on lawyers to keep yourself out of jail and what you did will be known to everyone."

"I'll do it."

"You'll do what?"

"I'll give her back her bank accounts, restore her credit, clean up her record."

"When? I want you to start on it today. We want her out of the house."

Wade swore again, "She's staying with you?"

"Yeah, you came close to killing her… " Shego paused to collect herself, remembering how she found Amy made her want very badly to hurt Wade.

And the young man wasn't helping his own case. Shego was still one of the few people he was willing to vent in front of, and her promise to keep this incident a secret allowed him to express more of his bitterness towards Kim, Amy, and Joss.

Shego let him ramble on; when he finally slowed his rant she asked him, "Do you really believe Kim would intentionally ever do anything to hurt you?"

"No," he replied sullenly. "But she didn't stick up for me with Joss. I made Kim, and she deserted me."

"You made Kim?"

"She was a junior high kid. It was my brains that made Team Possible. I was the one who found the bad guys, found a way to get her places, made her weapons, helped her win the fights. And I never got any credit. The spotlight was always Kim and Ron."

"She was the one who faced the danger, fought the fights, and inspired others. You sat back and ate too many burgers and sucked down too many sodas. You needed each other. She still wants your friendship. I hope you want hers.  
"Wade," she said softly, "you need to get your personal life in order. Maybe it's hard for you because you're a genius. You got sent off to college when other kids were playing with action figures and toy trucks. You never learned how to interact with people. That was the problem with you and Joss, why nothing ever happened."

Wade remained silent.

"Look, prison is not the place to learn interpersonal skills. The first lesson you learn is don't bend over if you drop the soap. You took my advice when you were the fat kid. The physical exercise and better diet has given you a healthy body, you look good. I've got more advice. Get some therapy. Spend more real time with real people and less time in front of the computer or in the lab."

Wade sat silently.

After a moment Shego asked, "Will you think about it?"

He nodded, and she quietly left.

---

It took a couple days for Amy to receive new credit cards and access to her bank accounts. Like that first breakfast at Casa Possible Shego had to warn her not to overdue at first, but the geneticist wanted a car, and clothes and her life back as quickly as she was able.

---

Amy gave up on saying goodbye to Kim before she left. 'Holly' had read_ The Cat in the Hat_ one last time to the twins and the pair was enthusiastically watching The Wiggles while the geneticist and Shego had coffee and finished the last batch of snickerdoodles in the kitchen.

"There are universities all over the world that would want you," Shego told her. "And they don't all have restrictions placed by congresses trying to suck up to Neanderthalic conservatives. A university's research budget would be nice to have."

"Maybe later. I have plenty of money for right now. I'm going to get my Cuddle Buddy™ collection back together and see old friends… I really want to thank you. I didn't like you. I tried to hurt you and Kim, and you still saved my life. If I can ever do anything for you let me know… Do you and Kim want to try for another daughter?"

"I think Kim said two was enough for her."

"Well, this could be your turn."

"Uh, after watching Kim through pregnancy and getting back into shape afterwards I think I'll pass."

"If you change your mind, let me know."

A little later, after hugs from the twins and a promise made, Amy was gone.

_"A baby of my own,"_ Shego thought, then shook off the idea. Kasy and Sheki were really hers. Potty training was too recent for diapers to sound good again, but Shego wondered if some day it might.

---

Kim made it home early on Thursday -- or perhaps very late since she had not come home Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday nights. A group of National Geographic cameramen and environmental scientists had gotten lost while working on a story on deforestation of the Amazon basin. Rumors of Shining Path guerillas in the area brought Global Justice into the search.

She needed a shower and nap, in that order, but heard the sound of the television and looked into the living room, "Ron! How can you let them watch that?"

"Hey, KP, I don't think they understand anything on the show. It's just a chance to see aunt Bonnie on TV."

"You'd better get a good job when you graduate. You're going to be paying for their therapy. Or you can pay me back by working for Global Justice. I could really use you to watch my back."

"I thought you had that Latisha chick as your second."

"Don't ever let her hear you call her a chick. I think the only reason Latisha doesn't stick a knife in my back is because it would look bad on her performance review. Latisha is the new Bonnie -- as in the old high school Bonnie. Where are 'Holly' and Shego?"

"Holly is gone. Check the kitchen for Shego, she was looking greener than usual when I saw her."

Kim found Shego in the kitchen, staring off vacantly into space. "What happened to your forehead?"

"My forehead?" Shego asked in a hollow voice.

"Yes, your forehead. It looks bruised."

"I've been pounding my head against the wall. Amy's gone."

"That's what Ron said. I don't understand the forehead bit. I thought she got on your nerves too. Did she steal something?"

"I would rather she had."

"You're making no sense. Why were you hitting your head against the wall?"

Shego stared at Kim, "It's true what they say, you know, no good deed goes unpunished."

Kim was sorely tempted to shake Shego until her teeth rattled. Finally, the pale woman began to speak again. "She wants to go looking for Monty."

"Weird, but typical Amy. I don't see how it could leave you like this."

"She loves our girls, Kim."

Kim smiled. "Yeah, everyone loves those two."

"She asked if she could come to their birthday party next year. I wasn't thinking. I said yes."

Kim patted Shego on the hand. "That's not so bad."

"She promised the girls she would bring them a pet."

It took a moment for the enormity of the situation to sink in.

---

"What's the noise about in there?" Ron called from the living room.

"Kim's beating her head against the wall."

"Why is she doing that?"

"Because it feels so good when you stop."

Kim sat down at the table and took Shego's hand. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, Kim. I love this house. But maybe it's time to sell it and live on an uncharted island in the Pacific. I mean; if the choices are live on coconut for the rest of my life or share a house with a pet Amy makes I'd have to go with the coconut."

--------- The End ----------

Author's Note: I have not yet decided what the pet will be -- if I continue writing. It will not be a small family of cats. I am 98 percent sure of that. I'm pretty sure Amy did NOT collect hair samples from their brushes for DNA content before she left. There is a greater chance, if the pet is introduced, that it will be given the name Smaug.


End file.
